So, that Pokémon announcement that everyone assumed would be remakes of Gold and Silver? Totally remakes of Gold and Silver. We'll get to play new versions of the Game Boy Color Pokemans and we get the satisfaction of being right! This time, it was Nintendo that jumped the gun with the announcement. The DS remakes, called Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver, are scheduled for release in Japan this fall. Going by the time it took Diamond and Pearl to reach North America, we could possibly see these by spring 2010.[Via Kotaku; thanks, Fernando Rocker!]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

You know you're old when there's a whole phenomenon sweeping the world that you've never heard about. Just like Tamagotchi, Pokémon and countless amounts of Pogs that have come before it, the latest collectible gaming craze aimed at the elementary school is Bakugan, where you do battle on cards with balls. That's right, balls. Apparently more than 55 million of these suckers have been sold already and it won Toy of the Year last year. Blink!Activision is readying a video game version for the Wii and DS later this year, and we've got some of the first screens from the ball-rolling battler. There's actually a neat little mechanic in the real version, featuring magnets that cause your ball to pop open into a little fighting creature or robot when you roll it over one of the cards. Check out the full gallery below and try to avoid making any ball-related jokes. We know, it's nigh impossible.
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If this trailer for Rabbids Go Home is any indication, the plot of the game, in which the Rabbids decide to go live on the moon, is driven by boredom. Specifically, boredom with Rabbids party games!Along with the (surprisingly) funny trailer, Ubisoft has offered some more details of the new Rabbid adventure. Players control a pair of Rabbids with a shopping cart, which can be augmented with items like jet skis or hospital "Bubble Beds," and collect "various sizes of human stuff" in order to build a pile of junk tall enough to reach the moon. The gameplay is divided into "over 40 missions" in which the Rabbids gather stuff while "scaring the Humans right down to their undies - literally!" The Rabbid-loathing humans, in turn, send out "Verminators" to exterminate the yelling critters. Guess the humans are bored with Rabbids games too!
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Last year, we idly mused that Success Corp.'s Amazing Animals, a Wii safari game, looked kind of neat. Now, Natsume will give us a chance to experience the kind-of-neatness for ourselves! The company announced today that it has picked up North American publishing rights for the title.Confirming our previous assumption about the gameplay, Natsume explains that Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is a wildlife photography game in an African setting. "Each day, [players will] be tasked with completing specific assignments, such as taking pictures of particular animals, groups of animals, or animals engaged in certain actions. Players will see a variety of exotic wildlife on their expedition, including gazelles, gorillas, and elephants." So basically it's Sony's Afrika, but cuter and less likely to be used as a TV demo in electronics stores. Natsume will be displaying Animal Kingdom at E3. We're so glad Natsume decided upon the Animal Kingdom name, by the way. We've never been happier with a regional name change. The title of the game in Europe is ... Safar'Wii.
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